Midnight visitor
by Peggy Mae
Summary: Queen Clarisse doesn't tell anyone about her vivid dreams featuring her late husband. Joseph grows worried when she gets health problems. SUPERNATURAL!
1. Chapter 1

AN: _Midnight visitor_ contains some love making, so if you prefer not to read about that, you might rather skip this fanfic. If you dislike supernatural creatures, this is not your read either. But if shrug your shoulders at these warnings: I hope you'll enjoy the story and leave me a review.

Midnight visitor

Chapter 1

Charlotte glanced at Joe. _He_ didn't seem troubled by the fact that Her Majesty let the Master of the Horses argue with the game-keeper, but then, the queen's bodyguard _did_ have a poker face.

The queen suddenly shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. Her arguing employees shut up.

´Gentlemen, I expect you to solve your argument and present me with a solution by tomorrow. Now Charlotte, what is the next item on the agenda?´

The queen was annoyed with herself for not having paid attention. It was just that she had recalled the dream she'd had the previous night. It had started by her and Joseph dancing. The way they danced together it had been like foreplay... And then she'd been in her bedroom, wearing the same flimsy nightgown she'd worn in reality. She'd been lying on her bed, on her back, her arms lazily lying above her head and _Rupert_ had cupped her breasts, kissed her neck and teased her nipples, saying how beautiful she looked. It had been exciting, but she wondered what it meant that even her subconscious couldn't allow _Joseph_ to enter her bedroom.

For the remainder of the meeting the queen pulled the strings, ignoring the concern she saw in Joseph's dark eyes. After the meeting he required a word with her and she reluctantly nodded her agreement. She was tired, and she didn't want Joseph to voice his worries, for she herself was worried too. After all: she was _never_ tired, well, not halfway the morning. Apart from that she felt dizzy when she rose these days and sometimes even when she walked.

No sooner had Joseph closed the door to her office behind the leaving courtiers or he asked: ´Are you alright Clarisse?´

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

´I'm fine Joseph.´

´You seemed a little distrac-´

´I'm fine thank you.´

´Perhaps you're thinking about His Majesty's upcoming dying-day?´

Clarisse thoughtfully nodded. ´I often think about the king these days.´

Joseph noticed her glancing at her wedding ring.

´What was it you wanted to discuss Joseph?´

´That was it. I just wondered whether you are... fine.´

She stepped toward him and briefly cupped his cheek. Joseph felt weak-kneed from her touch and her smile took his breath away. But didn't it always? If only he would have the same effect on her as she had on him...

´Thank you Joseph.´

Did her voice have a huskily quality?

Joseph swallowed hard. A knock on the door ended his brief audience with the queen.

...

Three days later Joseph was making a round in the gardens. His object was to see whether his men were doing a proper job but he'd chosen this time because he knew he might find his queen walking Maurice.

When he heard barking he allowed himself a small smile.

´Hello Joe.´

´Charlotte!´

Without discussing it the two of them followed the poodle.

They walked in silence at first and then they spoke simultaneously:

´Is Her Majesty too busy to walk-´

´She asked me to contact her physician Joe.´


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Charlotte stopped walking for so had Joseph.

´What's wrong with her? Tell me Charlotte!´

He spoke softly but it only made his anger and concern more evident. When she didn't reply instantly he impatiently made it for the castle. Charlotte waited for Maurice. She and the poodle at last walked to the queen's office and the guard on duty softly said that the queen had a meeting with his boss. Charlotte was not surprised to hear it.

´Come Maurice,´ said she, ´Let's go to my office.´

Joseph meanwhile had to wait for his queen to finish a call. It gave him time to calm down and to study Clarisse's features. She looked a little tired but it only showed in her eyes: her bearing was elegant as always. The sunlight shone on her hair and on the brooch she wore on her dress. Her perfume smelled after lilacs. She was lovely and unreachable.

When she put down the receiver, she didn't give him a chance to question her.

´Charlotte told you didn't she?´ said she with a teasing sparkle in her eye.

´Don't pretend it's unimportant Clarisse. You _never_ have the doctor come to check

on you!´

´That is not true,´ objected Clarisse.

´Your annual check-up is different. Why didn't you tell me?´

Clarisse shrugged.

´You _are_ my bodyguard but not my physician.´

´I'm not here as your bodyguard. I'm here as your friend!´

Clarisse bit her lower lip and gestured toward the sofa.

After she sat down, Joseph too took a seat.

´It's just that I am a little tired in the morning. It usually gets better after eating something. I just thought I'd have doctor Seward check my blood.´

Her calm demeanour lessened Joseph's anxiety a little, but he was still troubled.

´I wish you'd told me. You're not _alone_ Clarisse.´

He placed his hand on hers for he just _had_ to touch her. He registered that she didn't feel feverish. He tried to catch her gaze, but she looked down at their hands. Tick-tock said a clock. Tick-tock.

´Thank you Joseph.´

Clarisse rose and in doing so her fingertips caressed the back of his hand.

...

That night the wind howled around the castle. Clarisse reasoned that the nightgown she'd worn the previous nights would now be too cold. She put on a pyjama jacket and got into bed, wondering whether she would dream about Rupert. It would be a sensual hot dream... Maybe Joseph would finally appear too. Her sweet caring Joseph who would stand by her side no matter what was wrong with her...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Two days later the results of the blood test came in. Joseph _accidentally_ bumped into the doctor on his way out. He waved away an aide-de-camp and told him that he himself would escort doctor Seward to his car.

´Will she be alright?´ asked Joseph softly.

´She will be.´

Joseph sighed with relief.

´What is wrong with her?´ asked he.

The doctor was about to tell him that he couldn't tell him when Joseph said:

´Her Majesty is a stubborn lady who treasures Genovia's well being up to the point where she neglects her own.´

The doctor nodded solemnly. He knew that the bodyguard was right. He realised that Mr Romero would make a good ally in seeing to it that the queen would take good care of herself.

´Her haemoglobin level is too low,´ said the doctor in a whisper. ´It causes her to tire easily and it's responsible for her dizziness and headaches.´

He looked to his right. The bodyguard's jaw was clenched.

´Her Majesty will be fine _if_ she follows the instructions I left,´ added the doctor.

´What should she do?´ Joseph grimly asked.

...

´Really Joseph I will be fine. I'm glad it's nothing serious.´

´It is not _lethal_ Clarisse, but it _is_ serious.´

Joseph cleared his throat. The idea that his love had a health problem, however indifferent _she_ might be to it, made him feel sick at heart.

´Promise me that you will keep to your diet.´

´It is hardly a _diet_ Joseph. But don't worry, I'll eat the beef and the beet and the cod-fish and the endive and scorzonera and whatever else is on the list. And I will drink the fruit juice, no matter how disgusting it may taste. Doctor's orders.´

Joseph couldn't help but mirroring Clarisse's grin.

´Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?´ said he.

´Excuse me?´

´The doctor told me that your condition makes you dizzy and -.´

´My doctor might need to be reminded that there is such a thing as confidentiality,´ said Clarisse in an annoyed tone of voice.

´If there's anyone to blame it should be me. I made him talk to me.´

Clarisse eyed her friend who - casually leaning against her desk- stood to her left. She knew that he meant well and though she was sure that he didn't fantasize about _her_ the way she fantasized about _him_, it felt good that at least he cared for her. Her hand was on its way to cup his cheek when he added: ´He told me that you think that you're sleepwalking.´

Clarisse hated it to appear weak and in her opinion wandering about without knowing it was a sign of weakness. She pushed her chair backwards and walked toward the sitting area.

´Seriously! I will have a word with him!´

Joseph slowly said that none of the guards had reported that she was sleepwalking.

´It could be restricted to my suite,´ said Clarisse curtly.

´What makes you - ´

´Oh he didn't tell you did he?´

Joseph shook his head.

Removing a dead leaf from a bouquet Clarisse sulked in a whisper: ´That's something...´

Joseph suppressed a smile. He wouldn't say it even under torture, but his queen looked positively cute.

´Some nights ago I was wearing a pyjama jacket when I went to sleep and in a dream I changed it for a nightgown. When I woke up, I was _wearing_ that nightgown. There.´

Joseph couldn't stop himself from wondering what sort of nightgown she would wear. Silk adorned with lace? He banished the thought from his mind for his first objective was to reassure her: from her voice and the fact that she didn't look at him he concluded that she was upset. He suggested that she had gotten cold at night, that she'd changed her nightclothes and that she'd been too tired to recall it.

Clarisse made a dismissive gesture.

´The doctor didn't think that it meant anything that I am especially tired in the morning.´

Lowering her voice she copied the doctor's diction:

´Sleeplessness is often related to ordinary things Your Majesty. An unsuitable mattress, a room that isn't ventilated properly...´

Joseph smiled at her.

´It will be warm again tonight,´ Clarisse spoke in her own sweet voice, ´I'll set the window ajar, if that's alright with my Head of Security.´

Joseph inclined his head.

´Of course it will only attract more mosquitoes and they've attacked me already. But then they can't be responsible for my present 'condition', can they?´ concluded Clarisse.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning Joseph had a meeting with the queen to discuss how some new guards were functioning.

He arrived at her office a few minutes too early. When he knocked there was no reply, but she expected him and they were friends so Joseph simply walked in. To his astonishment and discomfort he found her asleep on a sofa. He silently left knowing she'd hate to find him there when she woke up. Him waiting in the corridor would make the guard wonder, so he went to collect a file he didn't need. When he re-entered the office he found Clarisse awake and about to contact Charlotte. She was relieved to learn that she hadn't been mistaken in thinking she had a meeting with him.

He studied her closely but she looked lovely as always. Then again, Joseph doubted that to him she would ever seem _other_ than lovely.

´No mosquitoes last night?´ inquired Joseph.

´Three bites.´

´Ouch. Do they itch?´

Clarisse shrugged. ´I read that itching-powders are considered chemical warfare. I now understand why.´

´There's this little device that you can put in a wall plug and- ´

´It produces a high tone making insects flee?´

Joseph nodded.

Clarisse shook her head. ´I've tried that. The little creeps just sat on it and made faces at me.´

Joseph grinned and said: ´When I was a child my mother would spray this stuff in the bedrooms. No one ever got bitten at our place.´

´What was it called?´

´I don't recall that. I was told that the European Union forbade it.´

´Why?´

´Well, there was this thing about not being able to enter the room within an hour after spraying because you ran a danger of being poisoned...´ Joseph said with a grin.

Clarisse laughed and then sighed. ´We'd better get some work done. My next appointment will be here in ten minutes.´

The queen heard Joseph mention that guard Fernandez was best at guarding objects. When he remarked that guard Tautou seemed a bit tense at times, she demanded an example.

´This morning I questioned him about his shift. He swore he'd seen something move near the mausoleum. Scott said _he_ didn't though.´

´Well, at night, near that place... Wasn't Tautou supposed to guard _me_ last night?´

Joseph was sorry she'd remembered.

´Yes he was. But I took his shift and I assigned him to Scott who was making a round at the estate.´

´Why was that?´

Joseph cleared his throat.

´I just thought that should you really be sleepwalking, you'd rather have me guarding you than one of my men.´

Clarisse was touched by Joseph's concern. Her mind pictured how it would be like to bump into Joseph at night. People who sleepwalk can't be held responsible for their actions can they? She moistened her lips, but Joseph didn't notice that. He opened the file and pretended to read something in order to hide the lust he knew must be in his eyes. All night long he'd fantasized about Clarisse leaving her suite wearing a low-cut silk nightgown...

´Did I?´

´I'm sorry?´

´Did I sleepwalk?´

Joseph shook his head.

´Well at least I didn't go _outside_.´

´You probably don't sleepwalk at all.´

Clarisse wasn't sure about that and she picked up the subject of the meeting again. Once Joseph had left her the queen called Charlotte to bring her some aspirin: it would be a long day.

...

The next morning Charlotte and Joseph admired the pictures of the queen that graced the front pages of several papers. The previous evening she'd visited an opera and she had looked breathtakingly in her stunning gown, her only jewellery a pearl choker. From the way she'd smiled and talked no one would have guessed she had a headache. Joseph had known about it though and he had been glad to return Clarisse into the care of her maids.

Charlotte, sitting behind her desk, pointed at a photo of the queen and a famous tenor.

´He couldn't keep his eyes of her. Well, he wasn't the only one, right Joe?´ chatted Charlotte innocently.

The secretary's office being near the queen's they heard Maurice barking.

´There must be a bird on the terrace again, he – Joe? Where are you- ´

Joseph didn't hear her any more.

He hurried to Clarisse's office. The guard on duty was surprised to see him and he got very nervous when he saw the look on his boss's face.

Joseph rushed into the office.

Maurice whimpered by now and Joe felt like doing so too: in a graceful heap on the floor lay his sweet Clarisse.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It took perhaps three seconds for Joseph to make it from the door to his queen's side, but never had mere seconds seemed so long. He knelt down and placed his fingers on her neck.

She had a pulse.

Joseph released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Hearing something near the door he looked up. Charlotte was pushing the wide-eyed guard aside.

´No!´ cried the secretary.

´She's alive,´ said Joseph. ´Call her doctor.´

The guard, noticing that Miss Kutaway could only stare at the queen, set things in motion. Maurice gently pushed his nose against his Mistress's motionless hand. Joseph prepared to lift the queen.

´Come here Maurice,´ said Charlotte nervously.

The dog, the guard and Charlotte followed Joseph all the way to the queen's suite. On their way they were greeted by shocked exclamations and before they'd reached their destination the entire castle knew that Mr Romero carried the unconscious queen to her room.

If it was hard for Joseph to carry Clarisse he didn't show it. ´Stay with me,´ he whispered. She couldn't be ill! She couldn't! Not for her sake, not for Genovia's sake, not for her sons' sake and not for his sake either. Sweet Clarisse!

The queen's maids offered their help the moment Joseph had placed Clarisse on her bed. One maid removed the queen's shoes, another one went to get a wet cloth. Joseph sat down next to Clarisse, taking her wrist between his thumb and fingers. He couldn't find a pulse immediately. Fixing his eyes on Clarisse's pale face he started to open her high collared blouse.

´No sir. I will do that!´ said the maid. Joseph ignored her. He placed his fingertips on his queen's neck and was relieved to learn that her heartbeat, though still weak, was stronger than it had been.

´Where's the doctor?´ demanded Joseph. He became aware of the sounds outside the suite. From what he could tell Charlotte was reassuring people while Maurice was barking at them.

´Give that to me!´ ordered Joseph to a scared maid holding a wet face-cloth.

´Your Majesty,´ said he for the benefit of the maids, ´can you hear me?´

He placed the cold cloth on her forehead.

´Your Majesty. How are you feeling?´ said Joseph. The queen moved her head a little and she opened her eyes. It didn't take a doctor to understand that she couldn't see clearly. Joseph tenderly pressed the cloth against her cheeks.

He'd dreamt of being in her bedroom, but not as her nurse...

When all this is in the past, when she's alright again, I'll tell her how I feel about her, Joseph promised himself. He softly talked to Clarisse, not wanting her to slip into unconsciousness again.

Ten minutes later doctor Seward hurried into the bedroom.

Seeing that his patient was not in a condition to talk he softly addressed Joseph.

´Miss Kutaway told me that you found her. Were you present when she fainted?´

´No, but I found her soon afterwards.´

The doctor nodded. ´Of course, with all the cameras you've got here...´

To allow the doctor to execute his checks, Joseph reluctantly left his spot next to the queen.

´Did someone check for injuries before she was brought here?´ said the doctor, as he checked the queen's pupils.

´Yes I did. There were none.´

´I'm going to listen to your heartbeat Your Majesty,´ said the doctor.

Joseph left to give his queen some privacy. Once he was in the sitting room he recalled something the doctor had said. He hurried to the monitoring room, ordering the guard to contact him as soon as the doctor left the suite.

...

When Joseph returned to the queen's suite doctor Seward only just left the bedroom, shaking his head.

´What is it doctor?´ asked Joseph, alarmed, ´Is her condition worse?´

´It's the maids,´ said the doctor with a sigh. ´They insisted that they be the ones to remove her blouse – I needed to listen to her heart you see – and they noticed some marks in her neck that must be mosquito bites, but they went all wide eyed and said that they must be a vampire's mark. Ha!´

Joseph smirked: ´They like watching films.´

Annoyed by the maids' stupidity the doctor shook his head once more.

´They said that Her Majesty keeps to her diet and that her appetite is good. Were they at least right about that?´

Joseph nodded.

´She's too weak to work as hard as she does. I suggested that it would be best if some of her appointments were cancelled... She could barely sit up but she gave me this _look_...´

Joseph nodded, knowing full well what the doctor meant.

´We're lucky it's a Saturday,´ Joseph said. ´She doesn't have any outdoor appointments this weekend.´

Joseph found an accomplice in Charlotte to cunningly re-arrange the queen's schedule for the next days. Afterwards he returned to the monitoring room.

...

After a few hours sleep, a shower, a change of clothes and a nourishing meal the queen declared that she was ready to get back to work. Joseph allowed her an hour behind her desk and then he entered her office to suggest she'd have some fresh air. He took her into the gardens. They walked slowly and they barely talked. Clarisse waved away the support of Joseph's arm and he, understanding that she needed to feel strong didn't insist. He was near enough to catch her before she fell, should she faint again.

´Please tell me you haven't contacted the princes?´ Clarisse suddenly broke the silence between them.

Joseph assured her that he hadn't.

´Thank goodness!´ said Clarisse with a sigh. ´There's nothing to worry about really. And I wouldn't want Philippe to speed up things for my sake.´

Joseph, understanding she was referring to the succession, nodded, and suggested to walk to the gazebo. Clarisse, who was getting tired, voiced her agreement.

When they entered the gazebo tea awaited them.

Clarisse understood that her friend had set it up and she pressed Joseph's arm to let him know that she knew.

´I'm _fine_ Joseph.´

´Of course you will be,´ Joseph said with a mischievous grin.

Clarisse giggled. To hide her embarrassment for acting so girlish, she fingered her shawl.

Joseph didn't know what made him offer to re-arrange it for her.

´Why? What's wrong with it?´

´Nothing. It's just...´

Joseph fumbled with the silk material the way her fashion designers would do.

The marks in her neck were about three and a halve centimetres apart.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Joseph, after escorting the queen to her office, made it for the royal tomb-house, together with the Holder of the Keys, who was the only one, besides members of the royal family, who had access to the building. Joseph had told the Holder that the queen would want to visit it on her husband's dying day and that he wanted to make sure all was well.

´Will the queen be alright sir?´ asked the Holder.

´Her Majesty will be fine.´

The Holder sighed with relief.

As the men descended into the tomb-house Joseph scolded himself for being an idiot.

After his first visit to the monitoring room he'd found out why the guard on duty hadn't raised an alarm before Maurice had done so: the man had admitted to have been checking a security tape with his colleague Tautou. Seeing the rage in his boss's eyes he'd revealed that the tapes had proven that someone had been walking near the tomb-house in the middle of the night. Joseph, not wanting to miss the opportunity to talk to the doctor on his way out (the guard might contact him too late), had left.

On his second visit to the monitoring room he'd ordered the guard to show him the tape. Joseph, who could recognize people simply by the way they moved, had identified the figure near the mausoleum as Mr Raymond, a butler.

_Vampires don't exist you fool and yet here you are._

The Holder and Joseph stopped in front of King Rupert's tomb. Joseph refused to look toward the right, where his queen would one day rest.

´This is a tomb befitting a King,´ Joseph said just to say something. He glanced at the floor. There weren't any footprints.

´Solid marble,´ replied the Holder. ´From the bottom to the lid.´

_Those marks were mosquito bites you idiot!_ concluded Joseph.

...

Though the queen was embarrassed about having fainted, her mind more than once pictured Joseph carrying her in his strong arms. She didn't recall it herself but her maids (who'd informed her that they themselves had undressed her) had told her all about it. She went to bed early and as she put on an embroidered nightgown, she fantasied about _Joseph_ having undressed her, glancing at her body appraisingly. She trailed her fingers over her collarbone. It made her shiver with pleasure.

When she lied down she smelled something unusual. Switching on a light she started an investigation. It didn't take long before she located the source of the scent: under the other pillow lay some garlic. Clarisse raised her eyebrows. Garlic? Had it been on the doctor's list of things to eat? Surely not? And what was it doing _here_? Seriously!

She put the garlic in the bathroom. On her way back to bed she heard her pet at the door.

´I'm fine Maurice. Down boy.´

It had been a tiring day for her and she fell asleep almost instantly. Her poodle stayed awake, his ears fixed on something humans couldn't hear.

After a while he started growling, but he was stopped by a deep familiar voice from the bedroom: ´Quiet dog.´

_He's just a puppy, _Clarisse said in her dream.

_I know my love. But he should learn not to interfere when we're together._

_Oh..._

_You like it when I touch you there, don't you?_

_Do you – oh- need to -Rupert!- ask?_

...

Joseph, reasoning that his men might start wondering if he stood guard near the queen's suite every evening, was studying some floor plans of the castle. He was in an old dungeon where the Renaldi archive was kept.

At first Joseph didn't know why the place reminded him of elementary school but then he noticed some maps being prepared to be glued into wooden poles. By the smell of it several had been taken care of already.

Joseph used the floor plans to find the fastest and most secretive ways to reach Clarisse's suite. He compared floor plans from several centuries which took a lot of time. It didn't help that images of Clarisse sleepwalking in her bedroom, swaying her hips lusciously kept filling his head.

He loved her. He didn't know when his infatuation with her had started, but he knew that he hadn't truly _lived_ until then. Even if she would never be _more_ than his friend, he would be happy just to be with her. He wondered whether that was sad. Perhaps it was. But if so, it was sadness mixed with joy. Joy of knowing her, of being with her, of making her laugh, of taking care of her, of feeling her soft hand cupping his cheek.

Joseph sighed heavily. Would he dare keep the promise he'd made himself? What if it ruined everything?

´Back to work,´ he said aloud.

He found and memorised several routes. After a while he heard an annoying buzz. A fly landed on one of the floor plans.

´Go.´

The fly didn't obey.

Joseph made a gesture with his hand and the insect left.

Joseph checked the paper where the tiny animal had sat for spots.

´What's that?´

He checked the date on the floor plan.

1823.

He searched through other plans of the same part of the estate.

The underground corridor he'd just discovered was still there on a plan from 1861, but in a small handwriting it said that it had partly collapsed in 1852 and that it was no longer being used. Starting with the plan from 1910 the corridor was not drawn in at all.

As a marine Joseph had learnt to be prepared for _anything_. He reached into his boot and took out a knife.

...

_I was a fool,_ admitted Rupert in Clarisse's dream.

_What do you mean?_

_I had a sexy passionate wife who tastes like honey. Yet I satisfied my needs elsewhere. I was a fool as ever lived._

_You could tribute me now._

_Rupert eagerly followed his wife's suggestion._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Joseph halted in front of the secret door to Clarisse's bedroom. His brow was sweaty from the hazardous route he'd taken. He aimed his flash light at the hinges. Would they crack? What was he thinking? If she heard a strange sound she might alert security... How could he explain his presence? Her expression had told him that she liked the idea of him guarding her at night instead of one of his men. But in her _bedroom_?

Joseph removed some cobweb from his head as if that would help him to clear his mind.

What if she thought he wanted to take advantage of her? He could hardly tell her the truth now could he? At best she would laugh at him. At worst...

He heard a long lasting moan that made his heartbeat increase.

´Oh!´

Then he heard another voice.

´Ah!´

A man's voice.

_No wonder she's tired in the morning_, was Joseph's first thought.

´Oh Rupert!´

The jealousy and grief Joseph had felt only a moment ago washed off him. Without hesitation he opened the door. The hinges didn't betray him, but he couldn't have cared less if they had.

On the huge bed lay his queen. The moonlight eerily illuminated her. Her upper body rested on the foot-end, with her arms above her head and her hands grabbing hold of the sheets. She wore a black silk nightgown with small braided shoulder-straps.

´Oh!´

Between her legs sat a pale man on his knees. His features were hidden in the shadow but Joseph didn't look at his face though he knew he ought to do so. His eyes were fixed on the man's hips moving in a timeless rhythm.

´Oh! Ru... pert!´

Clarisse moved her head in ecstacy. The man bent over to suck her nipples, his hands firmly holding her hips.

Joseph could now see his face.

Until this moment he hadn't _really_ believed it.

Despite seeing the marks in Clarisse's neck, despite her medical condition, despite the discovery that there was a secret corridor between the tomb-house and the castle, he hadn't truly _believed _in vampires. But as he saw the face of the man next to whose open coffin he'd kept vigil, he took out a stake he'd made from a pole in the dungeon.

The movement made the dead king look up. When he saw Joseph he stilled.

´Ru-pert!´ protested Clarisse breathlessly. ´Don't. Stop. Please.´

She opened her eyes and followed her lover's gaze.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Both men were startled by Clarisse's reaction.

´Joseph! Finally!´ exclaimed she huskily.

She extended a hand toward her friend and bodyguard while with the other hand caressing her lover's back.

Rupert growled jealously. ´Do you _want_ _him_?´

´Sh-sh!´ said she with a sensuous smile. ´This is _my_ dream Rupert.´

Joseph stepped closer. He was moved and excited by what Clarisse's words implied, but he didn't forget that right now he needed to _protect_ her more than anything. He held a firm grip on the stake.

In a move that went faster than Joseph's brain could register, the late king dragged his spouse upwards until she came to sit in his lap. She groaned. Despite himself the sound aroused Joseph, as did the fact that Clarisse's nightgown had a low cut back.

He realised that it was impossible for him to attack the vampire since Clarisse unknowingly acted as a shield. Rupert, kissing his wife's shoulder, smirked at Joseph triumphantly. The two lovers resumed their love making. Joseph was mesmerised by the sight in front of him and he knew that the vampire knew that.

It didn't take long ere Clarisse climaxed.

Rupert extended his fangs and opened his wife's neck.

Joseph started trembling all over.

´Don't,´ said he. ´You've made her ill already.´

Rupert continued to suck Clarisse's blood.

Her hands let go of his shoulders. Rupert had to support her body or she would fall backwards. Clarisse made a throatily sound as if she were in pain.

´Stop it!´ urged Joseph, stepping closer.

Rupert's thirst was not satisfied though. When at last he looked up Joseph had the impression as if he was watching a lion having finished with his prey. The royal vampire sensually licked the bite marks he'd made and then, looking straight at Joseph, he licked Clarisse's blood from his lips and teeth. He obviously enjoyed the taste of it.

The late king tenderly caressed Clarisse's back. His fangs withdrew and he addressed his drowsy wife, gently supporting her head to look into her eyes.

´Sweetling, look at me. This was a lovely dream of you and I making love. You will sleep now.´

´Uhm,´ was all the reply Clarisse was capable of. Rupert was content with it though. His wife's head fell against his shoulder.

As Rupert caressed her hair he addressed Joseph, hatred in his eyes. It seemed to the bodyguard that the vampire spoke straight into his ear.

´You and I need to talk Romero. Go back into the secret corridor and wait for me at the fork.´

Joseph wanted to object. He couldn't leave his Clarisse near this creature. But when Rupert bent forward to lovingly lower his widow, Joseph changed his mind: Rupert wouldn't hurt _her_. Clarisse believed her nightly encounters with her husband to have been dreams. Joseph didn't want to run the risk of her finding out the truth.

He inclined his head, knowing full well that things would get nasty. He couldn't allow Rupert to continue to drain Clarisse. That would displease the vampire, who hated him already for being a welcome visitor in his wife's _dreams_.

...

At the fork Joseph wasn't alone for a long time. When he felt a draft he knew that the king had entered the secret corridor. It took fifty-one steps from the suite until the fork, but almost immediately after the door fell close the vampire appeared in the beam of light from Joseph's flashlight. He'd gotten dressed.

`Those are not the clothes you wore when you were entombed,´ said Joseph. He immediately regretted his remark. The king's sudden appearance had startled him, true, but there were more important things to discuss.

´My uniform got a bit messy when I was... created.´

´Which was almost a year ago sir,´ came Joseph's matter of fact remark. ´Why haven't you returned until now?´

´Let's say that's vampire politics.´

´Why did you cause her to become ill?´

Before Joseph could tell what was happening, the king had taken his flash light from him to shine into his face.

´I heard some servants talk about that,´ said Rupert with a shrug. Misreading Joseph's expression he explained: ´How could that be? I never liked being confined to small spaces. Fortunately there are many places in and underneath the castle to hide, even for a man like myself.´

´You're not a man any more.´

´That's not what you were thinking back in Her Majesty's bedroom.´

Joseph avoided his gaze. The king smirked.

´If you could _taste_ her, _all of her_, _you_ wouldn't be able to hold back either Romero.´

Joseph tried to keep his face impassive. The vampire made a contemptuous sound.

´You want her don't you?´

Joseph swallowed hard.

´I can understand _that_. What I can't un-´

´You've made her ill sir,´ Joseph interrupted. ´If you love her you should leave her alone.´

´So she can be seduced by the likes of you? Forget it!´

Shifting the flash light to his left hand the king moved his free hand to Joseph's throat.

´You've made her ill!´ repeated Joseph.

´See it as part of the big scheme,´ said the king as he casually tightened his grip on Joseph's neck.

´What do you mean?´ spoke Joseph with some difficulty.

´By the end of the year my son will be crowned king. I will then create a queen.´


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The vampire chuckled at seeing the rage and fear in Joseph's eyes.

´I will have the _pleasure_ of her company forever and ever,´ said Rupert with a meaningful smile.

´Hell no!´ cursed Joseph. His left hand swiftly moved down and grabbed something from his belt. The king dropped the flashlight to use his left hand to knock off the stake he expected Joseph to have drawn. His right hand held on to Joseph's throat.

Joseph had hoped for that. While he held his left hand high, pretending to desperately keep it away from the tall vampire, his right hand slowly moved down. Right after Rupert had struck away Joseph's weapon the bodyguard's right hand moved upwards. Exactly at the moment that the sound of the first weapon falling on the ground revealed that it _wasn't_ made of wood, Joseph struck.

Shocked, the king looked down.

´Curse you!´ cried he.

He closed both his hands on Joseph's neck, but it took mere seconds before both men found that there was truth in the popular belief about the rapid decomposition of vampires.

Joseph took a few steps away, coughing from being almost strangled. He was shaking from the shock of what had happened but nonetheless his eyes were glued to the late king's decay as shown by the fallen flashlight. Within a minute only dust remained. Joseph took a handkerchief from his pocket and -still trembling- put it next to the small pile. He used a foot to shove the royal remains on the cloth.

´At least it's a large handkerchief,´ whispered he. The remark prevented him from getting sick.

He picked up the flashlight and searched for his black-bladed dagger. It might have killed the king too, but with the stakes so high, Joe had preferred to use the one weapon that was said to vanish vampires.

...

In the sitting room of the queen's suite Maurice tilted his head. He'd woken up because of a small sound but his nose told him that the mistress's friend was with her and that was fine with him. He placed his head on his front legs and fell asleep again.

...

Joseph lovingly stared at his queen. Rupert – may he rest in peace at last- had turned her body and her head now rested on a pillow. He'd also covered her with a blanket. Joseph could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Now that she was no longer in danger, Joseph allowed himself to recall the inviting look on her face when she'd noticed him standing near. He recalled other things too: her nightgown stretching over her bosom like a second skin, her scent, her legs around the king's hips, her moans, her passion.

With difficulty Joseph retreated. He made it for the tomb-house. It took him many wrong turnings and consequently a long time to even get to the underground corridor. It had indeed collapsed, but as the vampire had proven it _had_ to be accessible. Joseph gained some scratches and sore muscles, but at last he mastered the corridor and he found himself in the deadly quiet tomb-house. His left hand held his flash light as well as the pouch he'd made of the handkerchief. His right hand clutched the stake. Just in case...

The moment the king had mentioned his claustrophobia, Joseph had hoped that the vampire didn't sleep in his tomb. To his immense relief he hadn't: the heavy lid was closed. Joseph deposed of the king's ashes by making a small hole in the pouch and walking around with it in the old part of the tomb-house, where the floor was made of earth. Sometimes he held his finger against the hole to make sure that the trail of ashes wasn't connected. Just in case...

Once or twice he shivered.

...

The queen's condition improved rapidly. The cook liked to take credit for it (for providing nourishing food), and so did Charlotte (for having skipped some appointments), the doctor (for being her doctor) and the queen's personal maids (for the garlic they'd placed in her room).

Joseph, who had, in removing the cause of the queen's illness, saved her life, remained silent on the subject, but he was pleased more than anyone by her recovered health.

On several occassions he told Clarisse so, as an introduction to tell her how he felt for her. The time never seemed right though and the words of love were left unsaid.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

On the king's dying day the queen, carrying a bouquet of roses, visited the tomb-house. Joseph stood guard outside. Clarisse stayed inside for a long time and only the fact that it was eleven in the morning prevented Joseph from worrying about her safety.

The Holder, waiting along, would never have guessed that the bodyguard's mind was in turmoil: Mr Romero looked calm as ever.

It had been a fortnight since Joseph had staked the vampire. He wasn't sorry for it. He would rather not have had to kill his late king, but it was very simply to him: any threat against Clarisse needed to be neutralised.

His mind was solely occupied by his ever changing plans to approach Clarisse to tell her how he felt for her.

The courtiers heard the queen approach. She nodded at the Holder and walked into the direction of the lawn. Joseph followed her. When she remarked that she liked the strong wind he took it as a cue to walk beside her.

She glanced at his arm and he readily offered it to her: he always enjoyed their physical contact, chaste as it was.

They walked in silence for a while.

´I don't dream of him any more,´ said Clarisse. ´For several weeks I had these dreams.´

Joseph cleared his throat.

There was no need to ask whom she was referring to. There was no need to inquire after her dreams either, for he knew about them. _His_ dreams now started with her lying on her bed, alone, huskily saying his name, inviting him to join her.

´Nice dreams?´ asked he.

Clarisse cleared her throat.

´The dreams were... sensual.´

She blushed.

Joseph pretended not to see it. He found it endearing that this elegant lady, who he'd witnessed as she'd wriggled on her bed with an expression of pure bliss on her beautiful face, used a word like sensual to describe heated passion.

´The night following the day I fainted I had the last dream...´

´Are you sorry for that?´

Clarisse shrugged: ´Someone else appeared in the dream.´

Joseph's heart skipped a beat. He stepped a little closer to her. They kept on walking.

´I felt that it meant something Joseph. I'd _hoped_ for you to appear and ...´

Clarisse sighed deeply, unaware that she'd made a slip of the tongue. ´I reasoned that I'm ready for a beginning.´

´You said _you_. You hoped for _me_ to appear in your dream.´

´What?´

´That's what you just said.´

Clarisse recalled her words. She blushed. There was no point in denying her remark, especially not because she _wanted_ Joseph to know how she felt for him. She had come to belief that he felt more than friendship for her, which is why she had dared to enter into the subject of dreaming, but right now she felt too vulnerable to press the issue.

Joseph understood.

´Was it a sensual dream?´ said he in a gruff voice. ´I hope it was.´

She cast a glance at him. He was looking ahead, swallowing hard. She exhaled.

´A dream, no matter how good, won't do any more Joseph. I've been dreaming for too long.´

Joseph covered her hand with his own.

´Years,´ said Joseph. ´Years of growing love and growing want.´

Clarisse made a throatily sound and stopped walking.

´Clarisse, corazón?´

Joseph's admission and the endearment he'd used made Clarisse, a lady of great poise, cry.

He put his arms around her.

Who would guess that her tears were not those of a mourning widow? Who would guess that her loyal bodyguard whispered ´I love you I love you I love you,´ into her hair?

Joseph offered his beloved a brand new handkerchief.

´It isn't going to be easy,´ warned Clarisse after she'd composed herself, ´We might never be able to emerge from the shadows.´

´Your shadow is my castle,´ said Joseph simply.

They walked on, without knowing where their feet were taking them. He, no longer tongue-tied on the subject, told her when and why he'd fallen in love with her.

Clarisse pressed his arm. She was moved to hear that he'd been in love with her for eight years already and it thrilled her to learn that he'd fallen for her when she was singing as she'd arranged a bouquet of flowers. It was something _Clarisse_ had done, not the queen. It was something _normal_. It seemed like a omen, a chance for a future together.

When it started to drizzle, Joseph took off his leather jacket and placed it around her shoulders. They returned to the castle.

...

The queen had work to do, even on a day like this, but she refused to part with Joseph just yet. Instead of walking to her office, she made it for her suite, for it was the only place in the kingdom where she had privacy. Joseph escorted her, walking a step behind her now. Clarisse swayed her hips just a little bit more than she normally did. She heard his intake of breath and it made her feel sensual.

Once in her suite, the two lovers faced each other.

´Here we are,´ said she.

´Yes,´ replied he softly.

He took her hands in his and bent to kiss them.

They looked at each other lovingly. At the same moment they stepped forward and while his strong arms circled her waist, her hands came to rest on his muscular chest.

They just stood there, too overwhelmed to do more.

´Some years ago,´ said Clarisse, staring at Joseph's collar, ´the king attended a conference in Greece. I looked forward to his return for I felt lonely. But when I came to greet him on his arrival, and _you_ stepped out of the car first, I realised that I had missed you just as much as I'd missed my husband.´

She looked into Joseph's eyes. ´It confused me.´

Joseph caressed her soft cheek.

´You sometimes appeared in my dreams from then on. At first we only talked.´

´And then what did we do?´

´We danced. It was sweet.´

´But you've had enough of dreaming,´ said Joseph.

Clarisse nodded.

´So have I corazón.´

Joseph bent his head towards hers.

Their kiss started tentatively, but soon it became more passionate. They clung to each other hungrily.

´You're irresistible,´ Joseph whispered against Clarisse's soft lips.

´Prove it,´ breathed she. To Joseph's surprise and thrill she nibbled his lower lip.

He moaned. His hands roamed her back.

´Tonight,´ said Clarisse.

Joseph groaned. He wanted her badly but he didn't want her to feel sorry for rushing things. After all, an hour ago they had not even admitted their feelings for one another.

´Shouldn't we w-´ objected Joseph with difficulty.

´Didn't you just say that I am irresistible?´ said Clarisse with a twinkle in her eye. Her fingers trailed his firm chest and she closed the small gap between their bodies.

A fortnight ago Joseph had witnessed that his queen was passionate, but he had never imagined her to be so playful, so luring. He was lost for words. His body did the talking though.

Clarisse smiled triumphantly.

´You and I have waited long enough,´ said she seriously. ´I love you. Let me show that to you Joseph.´

She kissed him.

´Become my mate and lover,´ said she as they parted to breath.

´I will set your skin afire with my touch my queen,´ replied Joseph.

~THE END~

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AN: Thank you for reading my Princess Diaries vampire story. Since you made it this far, why not leave a review?


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